HanaKimi :: The Novel
by Valikinz
Summary: Ever wondered how it would be like to read HanaKimi in novel layout? Well, here it is! The ENTIRE story, all 144 chapters and the extras, written in story format! [New chapter is up! And give me ideas for a new name. HanaKimi :: The Novel? Pfft.]
1. Prologue

Okay, so, since I'm really bored, I decided to do something. A crazy idea, true, but at least till will give me something to do whenever I'm bored. Yay?

So here it is… **_Hana-Kimi : The Novel_**

Not really, the novel… but it's the entire story all over again, but written in text version. Not from anyone's particular POV, but… it'll change around depending on the situation.

Why am I doing this to even START with, you may ask? Well, I don't really like fanfictions… to me, they ruin the characters (not all, some). So I decided to keep the original characters and story plot… AND WRITE A FANFICTION (not really fanfiction…) I'm a geniussss! WHOO! Please don't shoot me. ;;

Yes, I'm a loser - I can't believe I'm gonna write over 140 chapters of this. ;; Maybe sometimes I'll do 2 or more chapters at a time… who knows… we'll see!

I'll be updating this…who knows? There is no set "update" time. I'll just update whenever I feel like it.

Before I get sued, here's a disclaimer:

Hana-Kimi, the plotline, characters and everything about it belong to their creator, Hisaya Nakajo. This "fanfiction" was made for purely my own enjoyment. I'm not profiting off it in any way. I swear I'm not! Ah! Please don't shoot me!

I wish Sano were mine tho'. He's so damn sexy. ;; I wish guys were that hot IRL. But Sirius Black is sexier (not the actor, the character). If I were a guy, I'd probably get a nosebleed just thinking about it. XD

I LOVE YOU SIRIUS!!!

I'm doing my own manga, so when I start drawing it or have more updates on it, imma post info on it here. Ahaha. I have no shame. XD

I have the main plot ready, I just need to do a lot of things first – outline of it, and basically WRITE the entire plot. I only have ideas so far, I need to put them together. I CAN draw, but I need to improve… stupid backgrounds. Dx And on anatomy too. -- It's not so bad, but I need to improve on it. P That's why!

…I should learn to shut up once in a while. Dx Sorry for babbling on like that.

…so without further ado, here's **the Prologue! **(I did a double update with Chapter 1, so no worries)

---

Two girls, one blonde and one brunette, were in a room. If you looked around the room, you could see it was surrounded by pictures – some containing the brunette involved in some track-and-field events. By looking around the room, you could tell the family who lived in the house was active. No potato couches here. They were social too – in most the pictures, they were surrounded by people, whether friends or family, it was rarely that they were alone in a picture.

The two girls were chatting, while the blonde one held a pair of scissors and snipping away at the brunette's hair.

"Mizuki…" The blonde girl spoke as she cut off a strand of the girl's hair, "Are you really going back to Japan all by yourself? Why don't you just go to High School here in America?"

Snip. Snip. Snip. More hair was cut, and it piled up around the chair Mizuki was sitting in.

"I can't Julia!" exclaimed Mizuki as Julia cut her hair, "Not after I fought so hard with my dad to let me go! Besides, all the paper work's done already…"

Snip. Snip. Snip. More hair fell to the ground.

"Now, all I have to do is take action." Mizuki continued.

"Okay, so, this is about the high jumper you're always talking about isn't it?" Julia asked, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms. She didn't even bother trying to change her mind. Mizuki was always like that – when she wanted something, she would do anything to have it. This girl sometimes did the craziest things!

"Yea, I finally found out where he goes to school!" Mizuki replied as she looked around for a mirror to examine her newly-cut hair.

"So, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Why do you have to cut your **hair** for this?" Julia finally asked the question she had been most curious about. By Mizuki's reaction, she was pretty sure Mizuki had been trying to avoid answering that question.

If only the girls knew what was to come for Mizuki in Japan!


	2. Chapter 1

As promised…. here is **Chapter 1! **I haven't written in a while, I've been busy drawing manga short stories & stuff, so I'm really sorry if my writing skills are…rusty. Please give me a few chapters to get them back to normal! Yes, I know I changed the dates (from the Sano wind moment to the 100-sprint timing moment it's really the same day in the manga, but I made them two separate days). Hope you guys don't mind. ; But makes it much easier for me.

Yes, I know the "he" and "she" pronouns are confusing. But since POV's vary, I change it from the point of views. Sano thought Mizuki was a guy at the beginning, so in his thoughts, Mizuki's a "he" and is known as "Ashiya". Same with Nakatsu, 'cept he knows her as "Mizuki". Hope that clears it out. ; Sorry if it's a tad confusing. I'll try to cut down on that.

**EDITT :: **I'm sorryyy, but it's late, and I don't have time to edit this. I promise to edit it later tho'. For now I hope this will do! It took a long time. Whaaa! I hope you like it. ;

**Note to Self**: Don't try to make every panel two paragraphs. --

* * *

"I can't believe it! I'm gonna be late! And it's only my first day!" Mizuki Ashiya was running as fast as her feet would let her – which was a lot, considering she was a really fast runner. Her plane had arrived at Japan later than planned, and she was late for her first class.

She calmed down a little as a building came into view, but she actually started running a bit faster. A sign was beside the front gate of this building. It was written in kanji, and it read "Osaka Private High School". Mizuki burst through the gate, and into the building. Not really watching where she was going, she bumped into someone and fell on the ground as she turned around the corner.

"Ugh! S-sorry!" she managed to speak out, as she felt a hand wrap around her arm and start helping her up.

"S'okay." The person said whilst helping her up. "But… why are you so soft?"

Mizuki froze for a second at that statement, and took off running with a quick "Gotta run, thanks!"

'_That was close'._ she thought to herself as she ran to the classroom. She turned around the corner and…

"I'm Mizuki Ashiya, the transfer student! Sorry everyone! My plane was late!" she called out as she burst through the door, holding onto her chest and huffing and puffing from running so much. When she finally looked in the class properly, she saw every eye in the class on her, silence echoing through the room. In all faces was an expression of total surprise. Needless to say, she felt kind of awkward standing there in the doorway.

"So, you're the transfer student, Ashiya… is that right?" the teacher finally managed to speak, breaking the awkward silence while at it, "So, er, Ashiya, where's your book bag?"

Confusion spread through Mizuki. Her book bag? Wasn't she just carrying it? But she wasn't holding it right now…

"Here, forget something?" a voice behind her suddenly spoke out. Mizuki felt something on her head, and she turned around to look at the person behind her holding her book bag over her head.

'_It's him! Izumi Sano!_' Surprise, joy, and many mixed feelings were running through her right now. Izumi Sano was the person she crashed into?! How did she not notice?!?!?

"Sano, you're late!" the teacher pointed out to Sano.

"Ah, sorry Sensei…" Sano apologized. Mizuki gave a small gasp inaudible to everyone. Izumi Sano was in her class? No way! This was amazing! She had struck gold! And best of all, she wasn't dreaming!

"There," Sano said, leaving the bag on top of Mizuki's head and heading towards his seat, "Hang on to it, shorty."

Mizuki was ecstatic. Not only was Sano the person she bumped into, but he was also in her class! And he actually _talked_ to her! Not only that, but their seats are pretty close to each other too.

Maybe Mizuki was a bit thoughtless and a bit wild to even consider what she was doing. She was disguising herself so that she could sneak into a boy's school. All just to meet _him_, the former youth high jump champion Izumi Sano!

3 years ago, Mizuki had been back in Japan. To kill time, she turned on the TV and there was 13-year Izumi Sano. That was when Mizuki realized… how beautiful an athlete could be.

So Mizuki Ashiya started idolizing Sano. She asked the TV station about him. Ordered track-and-field all the way from Japan. She cut out all the articles she could find about him, and made a scrapbook out of them. Until finally, she just HAD to meet him. It was hard getting her father's approval to let her go back to Japan all by herself.

"Ashiya… has lived abroad for a long time. So um- there may be some things he may not…understand. So please… be considerate." The teacher had been talking to the class about Mizuki. A weird kid, this Mizuki Ashiya was. It wasn't often they were blessed with strange transfer students such as him.

"Yes, Sensei," echoed the class in reply. Everyone finally just went back to doing what they were doing before Ashiya came in. She was no longer the center of attention, and for Mizuki, that was completely fine. She was in dreamland at the moment.

'_I remember that one line he said in that one article…' _she thought to herself, _' "Effort always pays. You just have to believe in your own strength." ' _The thought of the life always brought a stupid grin to her delicate little face. Right now, though, it mostly because Sano was seating so nearby her! And he was everything she ever hoped for… Now she just needed to talk to him. So she walked up to him.

"Hi, Sano." She said casually to Sano, even though her heart was pounding madly and her lips were drying up. Around the classroom, people started muttering.

"Whoa! The new guy's talking to Sano!"

"Wow! Amazing!"

To Mizuki though, they were from another world. Right now it was like just she and Izumi Sano were the only ones in the room.

Sano, however, apparently didn't feel the same. He frowned at Mizuki, and it wasn't a welcoming frown. The frown on his face clearly said "Why are you talking to me?" and showed immediate dislike.

"I like you! Let's be friends!" Mizuki was grinning like a completely idiot, and with that statement, everyone almost fell out of their chairs. Who was this weird transfer student?!

"Uh- did I say something wrong?" Mizuki asked, confused. Having been raised in America, where the motto is "say what's on your mind", she didn't get why what she had said was wrong.

Sano suddenly stood up. He turned to look at Mizuki, and gave her a look that clearly said he was annoyed. "Sorry, but… I'm not _into_ that." He started walking away from her, and towards the door. He wanted to get away from this strange new student as fast as possible.

It suddenly dawned on Mizuki what everyone was thinking. _He thinks… I'm gay!_ She was horrified, and embarrassed all throughout.

"N-no! T-that's not what I… You've gotta listen! Please!" She tried to explain herself, but was stuttering nervously. Sano didn't even seem to be listening.

"Sano! Get back in your seat! Where do you think you're going?" barked the teacher as Sano opened the door.

"Out." He simply replied. He stepped out of the room and took completely care in slamming door behind him.

Silence echoed throughout the classroom once more. "Pa-the-tic," echoed from her classmates.

'_Agh! And it's only my first day! How did I get into this?!?'_ Mizuki was embarrassed, but even that situation wasn't enough to bring her down.

"What's he doing _now_?" hissed someone in the class. Mizuki, however, wasn't listening. And if she was, she clearly dedicated to ignore them.

'_I won't let it beat me! I crossed an ocean to be here! I will be his friend! No matter what it takes!' _She started snickering and laughing to herself.

"Do something about this guy!"

"Don't look at me! You do something!"

"Looks like we got us a weirdo…"

"Why do we always get the strange ones?"

Hissing and whispering broke off behind Mizuki. Mizuki was completely deaf to it, probably because at the same time she heard laughter behind her. She turned around to see the source of the laughter, and behind her was a tall guy with bleached blonde hair.

"You're a pretty funny guy," he commented, "I could get to like you. And I know Izumi got you wrong." He was smiling. It wasn't a mocking smile making fun of her, but a friendly smile. It wasn't coming from Izumi, but at least it was better than nothing!

"My name is Shuichi Nakatsu," he introduced himself, "You've heard of the guy they call the 'Fiery Lion' of the Osaka School soccer team? Well, that's me. Nice to meet you." Mizuki had never heard of this so-called 'Fiery Lion'. But it didn't hurt to be friendly, and she wasn't about to be rude to the first person to show her kindness in Japan.

"Huh? Uh… Same here." She managed to say, smiling nervously.

"HUH? I can't hear you! Speak up like a man!" Nakatsu demanded, slapping her on the back a bit too hard. Mizuki groaned and massaged her back. "I'm here on a scholarship," he continued, "You do anything?"

"Me? Do? Oh… some track and field… but no scholarship…" she replied. Maybe this stranger wasn't so bad afterall.

Osaka High is a boarding school famous for academics and athlethics. It's student body includes lots of people with famous parents.

"Y'know, Izumi's not on scholarship either…" Nakatsu babbled on. Before Mizuki had time to even _begin_ to worry about the thoughts the entered her mind at once, Nakatsu spoke on, "So, you lived in the states! Look, there's something you got to tell me… are the chicks really hotter over there?"

Mizuki almost freaked out. How could Nakatsu be asking a _girl_ that?!? But he didn't know she was a girl… but still, how could he ask that to her?! She was nervous in answering that, and managed to squeak out, "I…uh…guess that depends on your…taste?"

Nakatsu frowned for a second, before finally coming up with a solution. "Oh, I get it! You're still a virgin!" Mizuki's reaction was shocking, and he started laughing. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm just trying to learn the truth about this stuff myself. It's important to get the testicles of other guys!"

"That's _testimonies_, you idiot!" A man with long red hair who seemed to be passing through had just come up and kicked Nakatsu's head. He was wearing glasses, and a white robe. "Geez, what do they teach these kids?"

"School doctors aren't supposed to cause injuries!" Nakatsu yelled after recovering from the kick in his head. The doctor simply smiled. An evil smile that just sent shivers down your back.

"Hehe. NOW who's a tough guy, Nakatsu?" the doctor said, still smiling that scary smile. Mizuki had been freaked out at this new arrival – was EVERYONE in this school that crazy?! She hadn't met one decent person! Well, except Sano… but he wasn't _exactly_ decent either…

"Um- can we go?" Mizuki squeaked out. She thought no one had heard her, but Nakatsu apparently did, because he started walking, and Mizuki followed. They went out of the head building and walked a bit till they came upon another building. Students were currently flooding in, and Nakatsu entered. Mizuki followed him, and they came upon a bulletin board were dorm arrangements were put up. Under dorm 205 it read "Mizuki Ashiya, Izumi Sano".

"Well…seems you're his new roommate. Sano used to have a double all to himself. Now he has to share, so he's pouting. Says he doesn't want to have to move his stuff." Nakatsu gave a small laugh, but Mizuki didn't hear him. She was shocked and happy at the same time. She and Sano were in the same room?! Things just kept getting better and better.

"If you need anything, let me know! I'm in room 203." Nakatsu offered, starting off to walk with Mizuki towards her dorm. While walking, Mizuki was left trying to picture Sano pouting, something she just couldn't picture. He seemed to good for that.

"AH! Yujiro, no!" Mizuki and Nakatsu turned to see the source of the commotion, but suddenly, a big dog jumped on top of Mizuki!

"Wh-whose dog is this?!?!" she demanded, as the dog started licking her face.

"Weird. That's Yujiro. He's sort of the dorm mascot. But he usually only pounces on girls," Mizuki gasped. A dog ought to be able to sniff out the truth, right?! Had she been found out already?! She had barely been at school anymore!

"Oh! I'm so sorry! You're not hurt are you?" The dorm manager was apologizing for Yujiro's behavior after dragging him from Mizuki (with whines and groaning from Yujiro). Mizuki stood up and brushed the fur off herself, and assured the dorm manager she was fine.

"Funny, it's almost like he thinks you're a chick…" Nakatsu commented on Yujiro's behavior. Mizuki gasped, but Nakatsu only laughed and petted her chest, an action to which Mizuki almost screamed at. "Ha! Hell, if you had boobs, I might wonder myself!"

"Eek!" Mizuki screeched, but Nakatsu only stood there and laughed. He waved goodbye and headed off to his own dorm, and Mizuki calmed down a bit, reassuring herself that Nakatsu didn't know.

She went to dorm 205, thinking. It was all too much at once! She had been at the school for mere hours and she was already worn out. She turned 205's doorknob and entered. Sano was already in – he looked up from the book he was reading to see who had entered, and after seeing Mizuki, went back to reading.

'_Ah, great. He's here. Now to clear up that misunderstanding earlier…' _Mizuki took a deep breath, and went up to Sano. "Listen, I didn't mean it _that_ way, okay? But I really do want to be friends… I mean, the only reason I came here is because I always admired your high jumping…" Sano looked up from his book once more, and raised his eyebrows at her.

"Um- is it true you're not on scholarship? I find that hard to believe!" Mizuki had been wondering about that for a while, and just decided to ask that actual person about it. Might as well get the answer from the actual person!

After a minute of silence, Sano finally answered. "Well, believe it. 'Cause I quit the high jump." Mizuki reacted unconsciously, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him towards her.

"You WHAT?" she yelled, shocked, "B-but… _why?!_" She was more than surprised – if this was actually truth, then did that mean she had come to Japan for nothing?!

"And do I need your permission to quit?" Sano replied calmly. He hadn't reacted like any normal person would if some random, weird kid suddenly threw themselves at them. "Now, let go of me."

Mizuki's fantasies shattered right there and then. No way… he was really arrogant! How could this be?! Why was he like that? She had always pictured him the way she pictured his jump – graceful, kind, welcoming and beautiful. He was the opposite from what she expected! It just couldn't be true! He _can't_ be like this! He just couldn't!

She quickly changed out of her school uniform, disappointed at this new discovery. She was really upset! Sano had already left the room by the time she was out of the bathroom, so she exited the room, only to bump into a guy with long black hair.

"Hey." He said, nodding.

"Huh? Who-" she started, but he cut across her.

"Excuse me, but you're Mizuki Ashiya, right?"

"Uh, yeah… that's me."

The guy smiled and introduced himself. "I'm Minami Namba, the dorm R.A. I just came by to run the dorm rules by you." Mizuki nodded, and was surprised to see than Namba was examining her. She started getting a bit nervous and was about to ask what was wrong, but he spoke up, "I heard the rumours, but I didn't believe them. But they were right! Have people been telling you you're really _cute_?"

Mizuki gasped, and quickly shook her head. Namba just laughed. "Oh, were you about to go to cafeteria? I'll go with you, and I'll explain everything as I go." Mizuki somewhat agreed, and she and Namba took off to the cafeteria, Namba talking away about the rules.

"Every room has a bath, but you can't use it after midnight. Dinner's in the cafeteria from 6 to 9, but get there early or there might not be anything left. It's pretty much just like it says in the handout."

"Ah, okay." Mizuki replied, nodding. She then felt a sudden pain on her shoulder, and turned to see someone just bump into her. The kid, a boy with pink hair just about her size, hissed at her.

"You're never gonna replace me! Got that?" he barked, running off and leaving Mizuki in a dumbfounded state.

"What just happened…?" she asked, frowning.

"About that." Namba replied, pointing off to somewhere in his left. Mizuki almost died when she saw what was up – there was a guy selling pictures – and one was of her!

'_What kind of looney bin is this?!?!' _ she thought to herself, clutching her chest as she was having a little trouble breathing.

"Hey, Nihobashi, you'd better watch the unauthorized photos." Namba had gone up to talk to the source of the trouble, but he merely grinned and directed his following words at Mizuki.

"They don't mean any harm. There's not much to do here, so you've gotta let them have their fun. You know?" Mizuki feel like causing a commotion, so she quickly agreed with him, reminding herself to be a little more careful at all time.

"Mizuki!" Mizuki spun to see who had called out to her. It was Nakatsu, who was currently running up to her.

"Nakatsu…?"

"Where were you?! I was going to ask if you wanted to eat, but you weren't there!" Nakatsu stopped in front of her, noticing Namba beside him. Namba nodded curtly and him, and patted Mizuki's shoulder.

"Bye, Ashiya. I'll see you around."

"Oh, uh, thanks!" Mizuki called out to him. Nakatsu merely stood beside her, still frowning.

"Let's get out of here. But…what were you and _him_ talking about?" he asked suspiciously, as they walked off.

"Oh, just rules and stuff."

"Huh. Really? Well, a chick could get pregnant just talking to that guy." Nakatsu commented. Little did he know that Namba was still within earshot, and had heard every word.

'_I can hear you Nakatsu,' _he thought to himself, irritated, _'I'm just good with women, that's all.'_

"Man, I'm stuffed! I just wished I had some dessert." Nakatsu complained as he and Mizuki continued to walk. Mizuki, however, wasn't listening. She was looking out the window.

"Oh! Sorry, Nakatsu, but you go ahead." She had just spotted something outside in the garden.

"Okay, later!" waved Nakatsu, walking off. Mizuki headed towards the doors, and burst outside and walked towards the garden. She had just seen him there…and there he was! Izumi Sano! But…wait… he was sleeping?!

Yea, he was sound asleep…and Yujiro seemed to be beside him barking to get Mizuki's attention! Mizuki shushed him, so that he would not wake up Sano. Seeing Sano till asleep, she sat down beside him to try to keep the wind from hitting him. That way, he would not get a cold. She looked out of the corner of her eye at him, and poked his cheek.

"You were so beautiful… when you were jumping…" she said, still poking his cheek. Se was mostly talking to herself, seeing as Sano was still sound asleep. Sano, however, seemed to move in his sleep a lot, because he suddenly flopped forward, and Mizuki gave a little gasp and caught him before he fell face forward.

"Got him!" she exclaimed, sighing with relief, "He's heavy…ugh…" She set him back in upwards position (**A/N: Did that like…just sound totally wrong?). **She decided to just sit there beside him, gazing into his sleeping face. Sano, though, had once again flopped over.

'_Ack! Not again!' _Mizuki thought in disbelief, setting herself to catching him again. Instead, though, Sano flopped over and his head landed on her shoulder. Mizuki blushed at the feeling, but before she had time to savior the moment, Yujiro jumped on Sano's back and all three of them fell over.

"Ow…" Mizuki groaned, feeling her head. Sano had landed on top of her, and the weight had hurt her. At the same time, Sano seemed to have woken up. He groaned and supported himself off the ground with his hands. When he noticed Ashiya underneath him, he was shocked. They were stuck in a suggestive position.

"What the…" he started, sitting up and getting off from Ashiya as fast as possible.

"Y-Yujiro jumped on me!" Ashiya explained, blushing and also sitting up. Sano turned around to see Yujiro behind him with a look that said "I felt left out!" Sano simply glared at Yujiro for a while before turning back to Ashiya. He was irritated at this new transfer student. How would he ever survive sharing a room with this kid for months to come?

"And how come you were out here?" he asked him, curious and not sure he even wanted to know the answer. This guy seemed to be obsessed with him.

"I could've just left you out here… but if you catch a cold, _I'm_ the one who has to suffer!" Ashiya replied, red in the face. Sano stared at him for a while, dumbfounded. Ashiya spoke on, "I would've woken you up, but you were sleeping like a corpse! I figured the least I could do was block the wind from hitting you!"

Sano stared for a few minutes before speaking. "Is…is that what you were doing?" He started laughing. Maybe this kid wasn't so bad. He was a little weird of course, but he had made him laugh for the first time in ages. "You're weird." He commented.

"Hey! _You're_ the one who fell on _me_!" Ashiya said, defending himself. Sano stopped laughing and blushed at that.

"Huh?" he said, turning red. Mizuki was taken aback by this blush. Sano didn't seem like the type to blush. _'He blushed. Now he looks kinda cute…'_ she thought to herself, surprised and pleased. She grinned and decided to tease him a bit.

"Hehehe… Oh, I almost forgot… you were grinding your teeth. And talking in your sleep." She teased.

Sano turned back to normal. "Liar." He stated. He stood up without waiting for a reply. "We better go back… or we really will catch a cold…" Mizuki however, wasn't concerned about catching a cold. She was thinking, while gazing at his figure towering above her.

'_Why did he quit the high jump?' _she wondered, continuing to stare at him.

"What a strong wind…" Sano commented as the wind brushed against him. He looked down and noticed Ashiya staring at him. He frowned, and asked, "Huh? What are you looking at?"

Mizuki blushed, and came back to reality. This was her – a guy. She needed to stop daydreaming about high-jumping Sano. If she continued to gaze off into space, she seemed more girly. Guys didn't obsess over high jumpers, right? She had to act more manly. Guys didn't check out other guys. Guys didn't cross oceans to meet other guys. Unless she wanted people to think she was gay, she had to act like a man. "Oh… it's nothing…" she said, still red in the face. She stood up and together she and Sano walked off back to the dormitories, her thoughts betraying again as they drifted back to high-jumping Sano.

The next morning, Mizuki woke up. She did her daily routine – shower, breakfast, and homeroom. When it was time for Physical Education, they were timing the 100 meter dash.

"Hustle people! We're timing for the 100 meter dash!" called out track caption Sekime, who was also in Mizuki's class. Mizuki was standing amongst the crowd, waiting for her turn to come up and wondering about Sano.

'_Why didn't I ask him yesterday why he wasn't jumping anymore…_' she wondered.

"Mizuki!" Nakatsu had suddenly just turned up and wrapped his arm around Mizuki in greeting. "Ehh? Why are you blushing? Are you _that_ happy to see me?" he wondered aloud, surprised at seeing Mizuki suddenly turn red.

"Wha-? I am _not_ blushing!" she denied, but truth was she was turning redder by the second.

"Uh- sure. Anyways, Mizuki, you better get yourself timed. Most of the guys have already done it." Nakatsu informed her.

"Right…" she replied, going to the starting line.

"Ah, Ashiya," it was Sekime, who was timing, "Alright, start at my say. Get ready then! Go!" And Mizuki took off, her thoughts on Sano and her body concentrating on just getting this over with as fast as possible.

Sekime, however, was shocked at the speed of Ashiya. "Whoa…" he wondered aloud, "Who _is_ this guy?" He was shocked at Ashiya's time. He was faster than anyone at school! Even than Nakatsu, who was the fastest runner in the school.

Mizuki though, wasn't concentrating on that. She spotted Sano chatting amongst a few people nearby her, and her thoughts immediately wandered back to him. Was he really not going to jump anymore? Why? She wanted to see him jump. But how could she if he was really arrogant? Why had he quit the high jump? Did this mean her entire trip was completely pointless?

She continued to think like this, and didn't notice Sekime behind her speaking to some other student. "Hey," he said to him, "Do you know this Ashiya?"

"What do you mean?" Nakatsu had heard Mizuki's and was immediately curious as to what they were talking about.

"Wow…" Sekime breathed slowly, "Nakatsu, check this out. This is Ashiya's time for the 100 meter dash. Faster than anybody at school – even you." Nakatsu looked down at the timewatch Sekime was holding, and was surprised – he was the fastest in the school, how was it possible Mizuki had ran this fast?!

Mizuki, meanwhile, still continued to think. Next class, she was back in homeroom. She didn't notice that like her first day at Osaka, whispering had broken out behind her. "Psst," whispered someone into her ear. She almost jumped and turned around to see who had spoken. It was another of her classmates she knew by mere sight. "Ashiya. They're talking about you over there," he said.

"Huh?" she turned to see everyone staring at her, and as if light bulbs had suddenly lighten up over their heads, she froze at their sight as they slowly walked towards her. Slowly. Slowly. Faster. Faster. Sprinting now. Mizuki ran for it.

"COME HERE ASHIYA!"

"Join my team, Ashiya!"

"No, my team!"

"No, mine!"

Mizuki had proved she was a fast runner, and put that to her advantage. She ran for it as fast as she could. Sekime had witnessed the entire scene. "Sorry Ashiya," he apologized after her, "The track captain let it slip out. Who knew it would get this crazy?"

Nakatsu was behind Sekime, staring out the window. And thinking.

Mizuki was still being chased. She ran out the classroom door. She ran out of the building. They were still following her! Why was this happening in the first place? She turned at a corner, where she seemed to have finally lost them.

"Ah, we lost him…"

"I want him. I want Mizuki Ashiya!"

"_We're_ drafting him!"

"This way, come on!"

Mizuki was panting, holding onto her chest. "I think I've lost them…" she said, sighing. She continued to pant and was heading back towards the school when she noticed a pair of legs sticking out from the bush. She went over to them, curious to who it was. And who else could it be? It was Sano!

She knew it. This guy could sleep anywhere! There he was, sleeping calmly, a dreamy look on his face. His hair against his face… his head resting on his hands… he looked so peaceful. Maybe that's what possessed her to sit down next to him and gaze into his face. To lower her head towards him… to lower her lips towards his…

"Hey! Did you find him?" Mizuki gasped as she heard a voice from one of the team recruiters. She also seemed to realize at that moment what she had been about to do. Was she mad?! What on Earth had possessed her? She quickly threw herself behind a bush, her face all red as she thought about what she had just tried to do.

"What's all the racket?" Sano had just woken up. He turned and spotted Ashiya sitting behind a bush. What was he doing there? "You…" he said, surprised to see Ashiya there.

"Hey, sleeping beauty! Did you see a freshmen just run by here?" The recruiters had tracked them down. Oh no! She was caught! Sano, however, wasn't planning to have her get caught.

"Yea, he went into that building over there." Sano told the recruiters. He turned back around to Ashiya. "Okay, they're gone," he said. But Ashiya wasn't there anymore. He was gone. "Mizuki!" he called out, "Where'd you go?"

Mizuki had ran for it. She couldn't bear to face him after what she had attempted! Sadly, she met Nakatsu on her way back home. And he wasn't going to let her off. He was playing soccer, and invited Mizuki to play with him.

"Nakatsu…?" she asked, when she saw him.

"So how about it Mizuki? You want to play with us? The rules are simple. First one to get in that goal wins." Mizuki didn't really want to play. But she was a man now, wasn't she? She had to accept! "Are you in?" Nakatsu repeated. Nothing good could come out of this… why was she doing this with Nakatsu anyways? She agreed to play though, and rolled up her sleeves so they wouldn't interfere.

Sano, meanwhile, was walking Yujiro. He passed by the school soccer fields, and Yujiro who had grown fond of Mizuki, caught her scent right away. He started barking his head off, and Sano turned to look at what he was barking at. It was Ashiya – he was with Nakatsu, both playing what looked like a friendly soccer match.

"Rrgh!" Nakatsu was sweating. Mizuki currently had the ball, and he just couldn't let him win, could he? He managed to take the ball back with a quick play with his feet, and exclaimed aloud "Got it!" He hadn't realized, however, that his elbow had hit Mizuki in the face, and he was falling… and fell hard on the ground. He only noticed when he heard the sound of him hitting the ground. He turned to see Mizuki collapse, and gasped. "Mizuki!" he yelled, in a too-dramatic manner. Sano had noticed Mizuki collapse at the same time, and rushed over to assist them.

"Mizuki." Nakatsu pleaded, gasping and slapping his face. "Mizuki!" he repeated. But it was no help. He was completely unconscious.

"I'll carry him. You run ahead and tell the doctor." Sano had arrived at the scene, and was kneeling besides Nakatsu.

"Izumi….no! I'll take him…it was my fault…" but Sano cut across him as if he had just slashed Nakatsu across the face with a whip, "Idiot! You're our star runner, right Nakatsu? So you run back to the school and make sure that stupid Doctor Umeda doesn't go anywhere!"

It took a second for Nakatsu to realize what Izumi meant. He suddenly stood up – there was no time to waste. "Right!" he said, and took off towards the infirmary. He had to catch Umeda before he left…

Yujiro was beside Mizuki, sniffing at her face. He was sad – why was she lying like that? He wanted to play with her. He couldn't play though, if she was there on the ground sleeping. "You'll be okay," Yujiro looked up at Izumi's voice. Izumi then put his arms underneath Mizuki, and lifted her sleeping body up in his arms. "Probably just got the wind knocked out of him… I can't believe that guy."

Sano stopped though, when he felt something against the palm of his hand. He frowned, and looked down at Ashiya. So many thoughts rushed into his head at the same time. Ashiya? No way! Ashiya couldn't possibly be… could he? No. It was impossible. He must have felt wrong… yes, that must be it…

At the infirmary, Umeda, the school doctor, was examining Mizuki. He stood back and sighed. "He'll be alright," he said, mostly to a worried Nakatsu who was kneeling besides Mizuki's bed, "Just the wind knocked out of him. That's all."

Nakatsu sighed with relief. "You're so lucky Mizuki!" he exclaimed, burying his head in his arms, relief spreading through him.

"Tsk tsk. Much ado about a soccer bump…" Umeda commented, irritated. He was just on his way home when Nakatsu came running up to him with something about Mizuki Ashiya getting hurt. Maybe if he had left a minute later… maybe he could've avoided Nakatsu… but now that he examined Mizuki, he wasn't sorry anymore that he hadn't left earlier.

"M-Mizuki?" gasped Nakatsu. Mizuki had twirled, and seemed to have awoken.

"Oh, is he awake?" Umeda asked, looking over at Mizuki.

"….Na…Nakatsu?" groaned Mizuki, opening her eyes and seeing Nakatsu standing over her. Where was she? She took a quick look at her surroundings and came to the conclusion that she was at the infirmary.

"Mizuki! You're alright!" Nakatsu cheered. Umeda, however, threw a kick at Nakatsu. "The spectators can go home now." He was getting tired of Nakatsu's bawling, and just wanted them to go home now. His and Sano's presence was irking him.

"What kind of quack are you?!" Nakatsu yelled at Umeda. Umeda simply grinned one of his cold grins that sent shivers down your back. "Going to tell me my business now, Nakatsu? Maybe I should kick your face next time…"

"Y-!" Nakatsu started, but Sano grabbed hold of the collar of his shirt and started pulling him towards the door. "Come on, let's go," he said, continuing to drag him. "Huh?! Let go of me, Izumi!" Nakatsu complained, trying to get Sano's hands off of him.

"That's right boys. Bye bye! This isn't a waiting room. 'Course, you can wait outside as long as you want. Just don't make any noise." Umeda said, still grinning. Nakatsu also continued to fight against Sano's hands.

"Damn you, Izumi! Let go of me!" Nakatsu whined, still struggling to get Izumi's hands off him. Who did Izumi think he was? He had no right to do that to him! Nakatsu was worried about Mizuki, hence he needed to stay in the room. To make sure he was fine.

"Hey! C'mon! Let go of me already! How long do you plan on dragging me around?" Nakatsu said angrily at Izumi. To his surprise, Izumi let go of him and just headed towards the door, leaving the others behind. Nakatsu, completely taken aback, went right after him, worried that something was wrong.

"Ah. So, are you completely conscious now?" Mizuki had sat up and was in the process of fixing up her tie. She looked up to see who had spoken to her, and saw Umeda circling around her. This must be the doctor. The one she saw before.

"Yes…" she replied, trying to wrack her brains for what had happened. When Nakatsu's elbow had hit her, she must have blacked out. Yes, that was what must have happened.

"Good. Yes, very good." Umeda was starting to freak her a little out, so she felt like leaving the room as soon as possible.

"Yes, I'm completely fine now so –" She made to stand up, but Umeda rounded up on her and she was forced back onto her seat.

"Well, then, now that you have a clear head you can answer one question…" he put his hand against the arm rest of the couch, and leaned towards Mizuki. A bit too close for comfort.

"_What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?"_


End file.
